Whitfield Quest pressure switch issue?

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quest79

New Member
Jan 20, 2015
17
nova scotia
So here is the scenario. We had some weather here and the strong winds reeked havoc with the way my stove was burning, causing excessive soot inside the stove. While it was burning poorly I noticed that my auger was acting strange. It would sometimes only run for half a cycle, sometimes the light would come on but the auger did not run. So after some trouble shooting I have determined that the pressure switch is what is causing my issue. With the switch by passed the stove has been running fine. My question is could this be caused from soot somehow, or maybe the pressure differences in the venting system caused by the wind, or is it most likely a faulty switch.
 
Stove is not meant to run with vacuum switch by-passed so spend some time to figure this out....

Have you checked the hose for the pressure switch ... no cracks or holes, clamps to secure on each end? Have you cleaned out the hose barb on the exhaust end? Made sure there is no ash build-up within the hose? Switch failure is rare, does happen but rare. How old is the stove?

When was the last deep clean done on the stove? Clean out all the internal exhaust passages and venting real well ... Leaf Blower Trick?

Next check all the gaskets using the dollar bill test - door, hopper and ash pan gaskets as appropriate for your stove.

Keep us posted...
 
Stove is not meant to run with vacuum switch by-passed so spend some time to figure this out....

Have you checked the hose for the pressure switch ... no cracks or holes, clamps to secure on each end? Have you cleaned out the hose barb on the exhaust end? Made sure there is no ash build-up within the hose? Switch failure is rare, does happen but rare. How old is the stove?

When was the last deep clean done on the stove? Clean out all the internal exhaust passages and venting real well ... Leaf Blower Trick?

Next check all the gaskets using the dollar bill test - door, hopper and ash pan gaskets as appropriate for your stove.

Keep us posted...
I realize I should not run the stove with the switch bypassed this was done strictly for trouble shooting purposes. My next step is going to be removing the hose and checking the port for clogging. I was just curious if there were any known issues with the switches failing. The stove has not been run much this season but maybe I should dis assemble and give it a good deep cleaning as well.
 
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A good cleaning and then check the venting and the termination. Quests are old but solid performers. Soot can foul things up pretty fast. May need to double check you door gaskets so that your getting the air thru the pot and not around the door. We had a issue with your stove not that long ago didn't we?
 
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A good cleaning and then check the venting and the termination. Quests are old but solid performers. Soot can foul things up pretty fast. May need to double check you door gaskets so that your getting the air thru the pot and not around the door. We had a issue with your stove not that long ago didn't we?
Yes we did. I was having an issue with my convection fan shutting down when running on high speed. I have not had the issue since oiling and cleaning however I usually run on low
 
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